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Topeka extends Colson's contract five years, increases salary to $175K

Hiller, Campos, Ortiz vote against extension, citing short timeline

Topeka City Manager Jim Colson, shown here at a Community Night Out Against Crime event in his first weeks in Topeka, received a five-year extension of his contract Tuesday night.

The city of Topeka on Tuesday locked city manager Jim Colson into a five-year contract and increased his salary by 2 percent.

Council members voted 6-3 to approve the amendments to Colson's current two-year contract, which started Aug. 27, 2012. The amendments extend the contract through Aug. 27, 2019, and increase his salary from $171,700 to $175,134. Any additional increases would require approval from a majority of the city council.

Colson’s salary started at $170,000, but he was granted a 1 percent increase last year along with other non-union employees.

The amendments also provide Colson five additional vacation days per quarter in addition to his regular accrual as a city employee, and schedule his performance evaluations for every March, starting next year.

Council members Karen Hiller, Sylvia Ortiz and John Campos II voted against the contract, though they acknowledged they wanted to keep Colson in the position. The three raised such issues as the short timeline for approving the final contract, the pay increase, the term of the contract and the lack of a commitment requirement from Colson.

Hiller, Campos and Ortiz said they couldn’t approve a contract in good conscience because it appeared before them less than an hour before they were expected to vote on it. The process, they said, wasn’t transparent.

“I support continuing the contract, but I can’t vote in favor of it tonight, because I think it’s wrong,” Hiller said, using other such adjectives as “unconscionable” and “inexcusable.”

The item was added to the agenda toward the start of Tuesday’s meeting, with the same three voting against the addition. Two efforts to defer consideration of the contract — first for one month, then for one week — failed by the same 6-3 vote by which it ultimately was approved.

“You have responsibility to speak with people in your district,” Campos said. “None of us have done that, because we haven’t had the opportunity.”

Other council members pointed to the fact that the council already had three meetings about the contract and that council members were elected to handle such issues.

However, Campos countered: “We’re not elected to be a leader. We’re elected to be a representative. It’s important to get people’s opinions.”

Councilman Chad Manspeaker indicated the process wasn’t underhanded, that three executive sessions dealing with the amendments were in line with Kansas Open Meetings Act.

“The reality of providing him with a five-year contract with only one pay increase so far I don’t think is unreasonable,” he said. “It provides the staff of the city of Topeka the security and stability of knowing their boss is going to be around.”

Ortiz and Campos also took issue with Colson’s proposed $175,000 salary. The annual salary of Topeka’s last noninterim city manager, Norton Bonaparte, was $137,500.

“I do not think this will be popular with any person in the city,” Campos said. “This man is grossly overpaid.”

Manspeaker contended Colson’s pay fit within other comparable cities and was appropriate for Colson’s performance. He and Schwartz said their conversations with constituents yielded only positive comments.

“I think Jim (Colson) has performed at a level that can be expected and commended and honestly is worth what we pay him,” Manspeaker said.

Ortiz was further critical of the requirement for approval for additional raises, noting, “all (Colson) has to do is keep his five happy.”

Ortiz also expressed concern about the lack of a commitment requirement from Colson in the contract.

“We have given our support, but he has not given us his,” she said. “I’ve never had a contract like that. I just think I would support two years, but I’m not going to support five years.”

Ortiz made a motion to include another amendment that required Colson pay the city six months’ back pay, should he decide to leave before the end of his contract. Mayor Larry Wolgast, with the 7-2 support of the council, deemed the motion out of order.

After the approval, Colson said he remained committed to the city, as he has since he arrived in August 2012.

“Thank you for having confidence in me,” he said, adding that he intended to continue “to work hard every day for the betterment of this city.”